Card-system.



No. 885,826. 7 PATENTED APR. 28, 1908.

G. C. ANDERSON.

CARD SYSTEM. APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 24, 1907.

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GEORGE c. ANDERSON, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLI OIS.

CARD SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 24, 1907. Serial No. 380,580.

Patented April 28, 1908.

orderly and convenient manner, data relating to business or affairs of any kind to which the system may be ap licable.

The purposes 0 this invention are to provide cards or sheets of such original configuration that the configuration of the card. or sheet will. serve to indicate "the character of the data or information contained on or furnished by said card or sheet; and to provide cards so constructed and arranged that'parts of said cards may be readily removable to the end that'the change in configuration of said cards by reason of the removal of one or more of'said removable parts will serve to indicate that cards of different configurations contain data or information of different kinds; to-provided cards or sheets of such ously withdrawn, and then properly placedv able configuration su form that when they are placed indiscriminately in even piles, a glance atthe piles will disclose any disorder or irregularity in the arrangementof the cards in said piles respec-' tively; to provide cards or sheets of such configuration that all inverted or misplaced cards or sheets in any pile may be simultanewithout disturbing the arrangement of the other sheets of the pile; to provide cards of such configuration that all the cards of one form may be simultaneously separated from all of the cards of the other form, or forms, and to provide cards of suchconfi uration that when duplicate cards are used 'allof' the duplicate cards may be simultaneously separated from the original cards; and to provide cards having on their faces an inscription referring to data or information contained on the reverse side of said cards.

With these ends in view my invention consists in a system comprising cards of change-- stantially as shown in recited in the claims.

Figure 1 is a plan of the face of a card of the preferred configuration; Fig. 2 is a plan of the back or reverse side of a card of'preferred configuration; Figs. 3, 4 and 5 illustrate modified configurations of the card resulting from the removal of certain detachable parts of the card as hereinafter set forth and Fig. 6 is a plan of a card comprising an original member and a complemental duplicate member.

' The word card or cards will hereinafter be used to designate cards, sheets, or other movable articles, shaped substantially as described and adapted for the uses set forth.

. The purposes of this invention I accomplish by means of cards substantially such as are shown in the drawings and which I will now describe; it is to be understood however that I do not confine the invention to cards [having the precise configurations hereinset forth, as it is obvious that cards of different configurations may be ada, ted to indicate at a glance the character of t e facts contained on the cards respectively, and havingperforations .or notches, or perforations and notches, or removable parts; or parts .cut away to indicate the allocation of the cards and the data supplied thereby, may be used within the scope of my invention. To illustrate I have shown in the drawings a 'set .of

cards adapted to be used by a gas company for the arran' ing and preserving of records of the setting 0 changing of, and removing of gas meters; and records of the changing of tenants, aifect'ing'the business of the company-usi'ng the system. It is to be understood however that} this particular application of the drawing, hereinafter set forth, and finally I the system is merely for convenience in illustratingand describing the same, and that ferent kinds of business.

the system is equally applicable to many dif- I will first describethe structural features of the cards composingthe system and will then describe the system as applied to the business of algae company. v

The card 1 has holes 2, 3 and 4, a slot 5, an inclined edge 6; lines of perforations 7, 8, 9 and lO; and removable parts 7 8, 9 and 10, bounded by the lines of perforations 7, 8, 9 and 10 respectively.- I have indicated lines of perforationsbounding the detachable plemental or duplicate card 1 has the notch serted throu will all parts of the cards; but the perforations 'dling each card separately. I effect this reregistry with the notches 5 of the du licate themselves are not an essential feature of the invention; since it is obvious that the detachable parts may, within the scope of my invention, be removed by any suitable instrument such as shears, or a suitable cutting blade. v I

The reference lettersX, Y, Z and W respectively indicate spaces previously occupied by removed detachable parts 7, 8, 9 and 10 respectively.

' On the face of the card,'on the part 7 is inscribed the word Set; on the part 8 is inscribed the word Change; and on the part 9 is inscribed the word Remove. On the reverse side of the'card on the parts 7, 8 and 9 is inscribed C. T., in each place, signifying change of tenant. The terms Set, Chan e and Remove refer to the character of t e information supplied by the card relating to the setting, changing, and removing of meters; and the term C. T. refers to matter supplied by the card..- relative to the change of tenant of the premises where the meter is situated. Records of the class described are usually made in duplicate, the original going to one department and'the duplicate going to another department of the business. In the course of a days business a large number of cards in duplicate will be used, and it is necessary to rovide means whereby the duplicate car s may be quickly separated from the original cards, w1thout the necessity for hansult by an expedient which I will now explain.

The ori inal card 1 has the notch 5 at the right hand end of the card and the hole 2 at the left hand end of the card, and the com- 5 at the left hand end, and the hole 2 near the right hand end of the card; hence when all of the cards are piled face 11 ward the holes 2' of the duplicate cards wil be in registry with the notches5 of the ori inal cards, and the holes 2 of the original cards will be in cards. If it be desired to se arate t e duplicates from the ori inal car s, a pencil in- 'h the ho es 2 will'catch all of the original cards and a pencil inse ted through the holes 2 will catch all of he duplicate cards; .and merely by moving 'the pencils away from each other the duplicates may be separated from the originals all of the du licates being on one pencil and all of the originals on the other pencil.

In practice the detachable parts bearing the pro er designation to indicate the character of t e work described on that particular card will remain on the card and the detachable arts bearing the other designations be removed, for example; if the card 1 contains instructions relative-to the setting of a meter the part 7 bearin the inscription Set and the part 10 (w ich has no inscription) will remain on the card and the parts 8, 9 will be removed: If the instrucpart 10 will be removed and the parts 7 8 and Q willremain upon the card, the inscription, For C. T. see other side, will be stamped or inscribed upon. the face of'the card to indicate that the instructions relative to the change of tenant will be found on the back of the card.

If all the cards after being cut as described, I

be piledin a single pile the holes'4 of the Change cards and the C. T. cards will register with the spaces Y of the Set cards and the Remove cards, caused by the removal of the part 8 of the Set and Remove cards, and the holes 3 of the Set cards and the Remove cards will register with the spaces W of the Change and the C. T. cards; and i the arts 10 of the Set and Remove car s lying one above the other, may be seized between the thumb and finger, the'Set and Remove cards may" be separated froni the Change and C. T. cards, the former being held between the thumb and finger ofone hand and the latter between the thumb and finger of y the other hand. When the Change and C. T. cards are separated as described from the Set and Remove cards, the parts 7 and 9 of the C. T. cards will be adjacent to the spaces X and Z previousl occupied by the parts 7 and 9 of the C lange cards. In order to separate the Change cards from the "C. T. cards it is only necessaryto grasp between the thumb and finger the corners of the C. T. cards which project beyond the upper inclined edges of the Change cards, and shake the cards sli htly, when all of the Change cards will fall by gravity into a single pile and all of the C. T. cards will remain between the thumb and finger.

The members 7*, 8*, 9 and 10 serve as pulling members; that is to' say when the cards are arranged in a pile with the associated members 7, 8*, 9, or 10 as the case may be adjacent to the spaces X, Z or W,'as the case may be, the parts 7?, 8, 9 or 10 may be seized between the finger and the thumb and used as handles, or pulling members, for separating the cards. 7

For convenience in description the parts grasp between the thumb and finger of one,

and the parts 7 a of the Set cards; and to grasp between the thumb and finger of the other hand the part 9 of the Remove cards, and move the hands apart; whereupon all of. the Set cards Will remain between the thumb and finger of one hand, and all of the Remove cards will remain between the thumb and finger of the other hand.

From the foregoing it will be seen that cards having the original configuration disclosed, and having detachable parts as shown and described; are adapted to supply in 'du- .plicate, data of four diflerent kinds; and all of the cards containing data of onekind are readily and simultaneously se arable from the cards containing data of t e'other'difierent kinds, and the duplicate cards are simultaneously separable from the original cards. In

' practice I prefer that thedetachable parts 7 and 9 be trian lar, because a large number of the triangu ar parts may .be easily and quickly'removed bya straight blade adapted to cut the cards; and I prefer that the detachable parts 8 and 10 be of substantially the parabolic form shown, for the reason that a bladeof that formwill cut into the holes 3 and 4 without leaving a ragged edge and for the additional reason that the spaces W and Y of that form are well suited for the use of the fingers in grasping the parts 10 to separate the Set and the Change and C. T. cards.

In practlce I alsoprefer that the transverse dimensions of the slots 5 and 5 shall be equal to the diameter of the holes 2 and 2' for the reason that when that relation subsists the pencils passing through the holes may slide outward lengthwise through the notches without crosswise disarrangement of the cards.

The purpose of the inclined edge 6 is to indicate the reversal or change .(end for end,) offany card in a pile, for example: if a Set card be turned end for end so that its member 7 instead of being at the left hand end of Remove cards from c'ated by the lower corner of the misplaced card projecting beyond the inclined edges 6 of the other cards with which it is associated. In case any card is turned up side down, the "body of said inverted card will lie across the holes 2 and notches 5, and the inversion of the card will clearly appear upon inspecdesignating members, pulling members, and spaces in such relation to each other that all e designating members of one class will be associated together, all of the designating members of another class will be associated together and all the cards of one designation may be separated from all of the cards of another designation by grasping between the thumb and finger of one hand the members of one designation, and gras ing between the thumb and finger of t e other hand the members of the other designation, andmoving the hands apart to separate all the cards of one designation from all of the cards of the other designation.

3. Acard system comprising cards having a corner designation, a central space, a corner space, and a pulling member; complemental cards having a corner space, an upper central space, a cornerdesignation difi'ermg from the corner designation of said firstnamed cards, and a central pulling member; and cards having a central designation matching the upper central spaces of said first named cards and said complemental cards and havinga central lower space matching the central ulling members of said first named cards and said complemental cards.

. 4. A card system comprising cards each having a central designat ng member, upper corner spaces, and a lower corner space; and

complemental cards each having a central having a notch and an inclined edge at one end, and a hole near the other end of said card; and complemental cards each having a corner and a hole near one end of said card;

the notches, the holes, the corners and the scribed my name at Springfield, Illinois, this inclined edges of said cards being so arranges 20th day of June, 1907.

that if any one of said cards is turned en for end the corner of that card will project GEORGE ANDERSON 5 across the inclined edge of the associated Witnesses:

cards. FoRDYoE W. BROWN,

In witness whereof I have hereunto sub- W. K. HALE. 

